Where does “benefit” come from?
Benefit comes from Middle English benefytt, from Middle English benfet, from Middle French bienfait, derived from Middle French bienfaire meaning to do good, from Middle French bien and Old French bien combined with Latin facio meaning to do.
benefit (English): An advantage; help or aid from something; A...
Definitions
- An advantage; help or aid from something; A...
Ancestry of “benefit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | benefytt | — |
| 2 | Middle English | benfet | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | benfet | well-done |
| 4 | Old French | bienfet | — |
| 5 | Old French | bienfaire | to do good, do well |
| 6 | Old French | bien | well; indeed; possession; object of value |
| 7 | Latin | bene | well; properly, exactly; agreeably, favorably |
| 8 | Latin | bonus | good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant;... |
| 9 | Old Latin | duenos | Alternative form of duonus |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | dwenos | good |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dew- | to show favour, revere; to fail, to lag, to be... |